Get to Know Them All before the Season Opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The wait is over. The 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season has arrived, beginning with this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24.
In this last of a two-part series, IMSA.com presents team-by-team capsules for every Grand Touring (GT) entry in the 60th anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona slated to start a week from today. All are participating in this weekend’s Roar testing sessions and qualifying race in preparation for the historic twice-around-the-clock event.
In case you missed it, check out the team capsules for the prototype classes.
Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class (13 entries)
Compiled by John Oreovicz
No. 2 KCMG
Porsche 911 GT3R
Laurens Vanthoor/Patrick Pilet/Dennis Olsen/Alexandre Imperatori
Based in Hong Kong, KC Motorgroup (KCMG) has supported a variety of sports car, open-wheel and NASCAR entries around the world since 2007, highlighted by a Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class victory in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team is making its first appearance in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition with Porsche factory support.
Vanthoor is a longtime Porsche pilot whose most recent success is the 2021 WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona (GTD) totle, achieved with Pfaff Motorsport. His record also includes a GTE Pro class win for Porsche at Le Mans in 2018 and the 2019 IMSA GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship.
Pilet has raced GT cars for Porsche since 2008, achieving notable IMSA race wins at the Rolex 24, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts and the Motul Petit Le Mans, as well as the 2015 GTLM championship.
Olsen’s IMSA career highlight is a 2019 GTD class win for Pfaff at Lime Rock Park. Swiss-born Imperatori has mainly raced GT cars in Asia throughout his career, but he scored a pair of LMP2 wins in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship.
No. 3 Corvette Racing
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD
Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg
The Corvette Racing duo of Garcia and Taylor claimed the WeatherTech Championship’s GTLM title for the second year in a row in 2021 and can effectively be considered the champion to dethrone in the first year of GTD PRO since this class replaces GTLM in ’22.
Garcia is the longest-tenured member of Corvette Racing, with history dating to 2009. Since joining fulltime in 2014, he notched 18 race wins (including two apiece at the Rolex 24 and the Sebring 12 Hours) and four IMSA GTLM championships.
Taylor’s association with Corvette Racing started at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans; he shared a GTE Pro class win at Le Sarthe in 2015 with Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin. After focusing on Daytona Prototypes for the majority of his IMSA career (teamed with his brother Ricky, they claimed the 2017 Prototype crown for their father’s team, Wayne Taylor Racing, four years after his first Daytona Prototype title alongside co-driver Max Angelelli), Jordan Taylor joined Corvette Racing fulltime in 2020 and has combined with Garcia for nine wins and consecutive GTLM championships.
Catsburg boasts extensive international sports car experience, including a victory for BMW in the 2015 Spa 24 Hours. His familiarity with the GT3 platform is expected to benefit Corvette’s Racing entry into the category.
No. 4 Corvette Racing
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD
Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Marco Sorensen
Corvette Racing is splitting its two-car effort in 2022, with the No. 3 car competing in the WeatherTech Championship, while the No. 4 entry ventures abroad as a fulltime contestant of WEC. The No. 4 is entered in the Rolex 24 to jumpstart that WEC effort.
Entering his 12th season with the team, Milner is relishing the opportunity to lead the team’s international expansion. A two-time class champion, he and Tandy enjoyed a three-race summer win streak on the way to completing a Corvette Racing 1-2 in the 2021 IMSA GTLM standings.
Tandy joined Corvette Racing in 2021 after a long association with Porsche that netted 11 GTLM wins between 2014-20 and an overall victory shared with Nico Hulkenberg and Earl Bamber in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sorensen, a 30-year-old Dane, earned GTE Pro championships in the WEC for Aston Martin in 2016 and 2018-19.
No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports
Porsche 911 GT3R
Matt Campbell/Mathieu Jaminet/Felipe Nasr
Effectively Porsche’s fulltime factory entrant in GTD PRO, Pfaff enters the category as the 2021 GTD champion. The team claims 34 race wins and seven championships since 2014.
Campbell and Jaminet are Porsche works drivers; Campbell has been part of the winning team for five of his 12 IMSA race starts, with four coming in marquee events at Sebring International Raceway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Jaminet’s sole WeatherTech Championship race win came at Sebring in 2021.
Nasr won the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) championship in 2018 and 2021 and is in his first year as a Porsche factory driver. He and 2019 DPi champion Dane Cameron have been named to lead the Porsche Penske Motorsport lineup in the future LMDh category starting in 2023. In the meantime, he’ll join Pfaff for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races.
No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing
Lexus RC F GT3
Jack Hawksworth/Ben Barnicoat/Kyle Kirkwood
Lexus continues its affiliation with former IndyCar champion Jimmy Vasser and partner James “Sulli” Sullivan for the fourth consecutive season, this year splitting its two WeatherTech Championship entries between GTD and GTD PRO. Lexus earned seven GTD wins in the first three years of the program, along with the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup title.
Former open-wheel standout Hawksworth, who shared in six of Lexus’ seven IMSA wins with Aaron Tellitz, will anchor the team’s GTD PRO program. Telitz continues with Lexus in 2022 as the lead driver of the No. 12 GTD entry.
Barnicoat, who was contracted with McLaren for much of his sports car career, is the team’s other 2022 fulltime GTD PRO driver, while endurance partner Kirkwood, 23, is regarded as one of America’s top road racing prospects. He’ll round out his fulltime duties in IndyCar driving for A.J. Foyt by competing for Lexus in the Michelin Endurance Cup events.
No. 15 Proton USA
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Dirk Mueller/Patrick Assenheimer/Austin Cindric
Proton Competition is a German-based team with a long association with Porsche. Proton operated in partnership with WeatherTech Racing during a 2021 WeatherTech Championship campaign that delivered lead driver Cooper MacNeil three GTLM wins.
Proton/WeatherTech will field a total of three cars in the 2022 Rolex 24; the No. 15 Mercedes is a one-off entry supported by Mercedes-Benz of Billings, another of WeatherTech Racing owner David MacNeil’s many business ventures.
Mueller is a vastly experienced sports car racer who has been part of factory efforts for BMW and Ford, and is now affiliated with Multimatic and Mercedes-AMG. His American sports car record includes class wins at Daytona and Sebring and a pair of American Le Mans Series championships.
Assenheimer has raced the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in several international series and is making his American racing debut. Cindric, the son of Team Penske President Tim Cindric, will compete for Rookie of the Year honors for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. He continues to make regular WeatherTech Championship appearances to sharpen his road racing skills.
No. 23 Heart of Racing Team
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Ross Gunn/Alex Riberas/Maxime Martin
The Heart of Racing originated as Team Seattle before team principal Ian James expanded its mission to include charitable contributions to pediatric research and hospitals. After expanding to field two GTD class entries in mid-2021, the team will split its Aston Martins between GTD and GTD PRO in 2022.
Factory Aston driver Gunn leads the GTD PRO driver lineup, joined by Riberas for the full slate and by Martin for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. Gunn had a breakout ’21 season in IMSA; he shared the winning car with Roman De Angelis in three races, including the Motul Petit Le Mans, on the way to third place in the season-long WeatherTech Championship GTD standings and a championship in the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
Riberas is a first-year Aston Martin driver who brings a decade of sports car experience that includes stints with Porsche, Audi and Ferrari. Martin is likewise in his first year with Aston Martin.
No. 24 BMW M Team RLL
BMW M4 GT3
Philipp Eng/Marco Wittmann/Nick Yelloly/Sheldon van der Linde
After competing only in the Michelin Endurance Cup races in 2021, BMW M Team RLL is back fulltime with two cars in 2022. The Rolex 24 is the debut race in North America for the new BMW M4 GT3, and the No. 24 features an all-new driving roster as BMW’s incumbent drivers have been shifted to the No. 25 entry this year.
Leading the No. 24 effort is Eng, who has made nine IMSA endurance race starts since 2018 for BMW, sharing a win in the 2019 Rolex 24 and earning two other podium finishes. Wittmann, a BMW works driver, was a last-minute substitution in the 2021 Rolex 24, and he co-drove the No. 24 to third place.
A contracted BMW driver since 2019, Yelloly was a top Porsche Carrera Cup racer who for the last three years also served as a test and simulator driver for the Racing Point/Aston Martin Formula 1 team. Van der Linde, who is also new to BMW M Team RLL this year, made one prior Rolex 24 start in a GTD class Audi in 2018.
No. 25 BMW M Team RLL
BMW M4 GT3
Connor De Phillippi/John Edwards/Augusto Farfus/Jesse Krohn
The No. 25 BMW is also a prior Rolex 24 winner, claiming GTLM honors in 2019. De Phillippi and Edwards are the anchor duo; Edwards is the longest-serving BMW driver, running fulltime for the marque since 2014 with three wins and 25 podium finishes. He and Krohn finished second in the 2020 GTLM standings.
De Phillippi has been part of four of BMW’s IMSA race wins, including when the No. 25 triumphed in the 2019 Rolex 24. Farfus, a longtime BMW pilot with extensive Touring Car and GT3 experience, was another co-driver in that win.
No. 62 Risi Competizione
Ferrari 488 GT3
Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Daniel Serra/Davide Rigon
With full Ferrari factory support, Houston-based Risi Competizione is the modern-day equivalent of Luigi Chinetti’s legendary North American Racing Team. Risi’s 21 appearances in the Rolex 24 have produced one class win and four other podium finishes since 1999. All four of Risi’s drivers enjoy affiliation with Ferrari’s worldwide Competizioni GT program.
Pier Guidi is a two-time WeatherTech Championship race winner, co-driving to victories in the 2014 Rolex 24 and 2019 Petit Le Mans. Calado was part of Risi’s winning effort in the 2016 Petit Le Mans; he and Pier Guidi also teamed to claim the FIA WEC championship in the GTE Pro class in 2017. Serra and Rigon have campaigned the Ferrari 488 GT3 in multiple championships around the world.
No. 63 TR3 Racing
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Marco Mapelli/Andrea Caldarelli/Mirko Bortolotti/Rolf Ineichen
Miami-based TR3 Racing is another organization that will split a two-car Rolex 24 effort between GTD and GTD PRO, with factory support from Lamborghini in both categories. After making its IMSA debut at Daytona, the team hopes to enter at least one car in all four rounds of the Michelin Endurance Cup.
Mapelli is the only driver in the group who has not been part of a Rolex 24 winning team; he finished second in GTD in 2020. Bortolotti and Ineichen are two-time Rolex 24 GTD class winners for Lamborghini (in 2018 and ’19). The duo also triumphed at Sebring the latter year. Caldarelli has raced five times for the Italian marque at Daytona, claiming a GTD class Rolex 24 win in 2020.
No. 79 WeatherTech Racing
Porsche 911 GT3R
Cooper MacNeil/Julien Andlauer/Matteo Cairoli/Alessio Picariello
This is arguably the flagship entry in the ambitious partnership between WeatherTech Racing and Proton Competition that will place three GTD PRO cars (one Porsche and two Mercedes-AMGs) on the Rolex 24 grid.
Anchored by MacNeil, the No. 79 Porsche won three times (including marquee races at Sebring and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) in GTLM competition in 2021, often giving the championship-winning Corvette team all it could handle. MacNeil owns a total of six race wins and has finished in the top five of his class championship four times.
All of MacNeil’s co-drivers are supported by the Porsche works. Andlauer is a two-time national Porsche Carrera Cup winner (France and Germany) who co-drove the winning GTE Am category 911 in the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours. Cairoli is another Carrera Cup champion (Italy) and race winner in the FIA WEC. He and Picariello will be making their IMSA debut.
No. 97 WeatherTech Racing
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Cooper MacNeil/Daniel Juncadella/Maro Engel/Jules Gounon
Doubling his chances of winning a Rolex watch, MacNeil will also spend significant time in WeatherTech Racing’s No. 97 Mercedes-AMG over the course of 24 hours at Daytona. His co-drivers are all affiliated with Mercedes-AMG factory-supported programs.
Engel is the most accomplished; his résumé includes major endurance race wins at the Nurburgring and Suzuka, and he co-drove the winning GTD class Mercedes-AMG to victory in the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Likewise, Gounon was part of marquee GT3 platform wins in the 24 Hours of Spa (2017) and Bathurst 12 Hour (2020). Juncadella has regularly competed in the German DTM series for nearly a decade; this is his third appearance in the Rolex 24.
Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class (22 entries)
Compiled by Holly Cain
No. 12 Vasser Sullivan
Lexus RC F GT3
Frankie Montecalvo/Aaron Telitz/Richard Heistand/Townsend Bell
Telitz finished seventh in the 2021 GTD championship standings, with a win in the Watkins Glen sprint race – one of five top-five finishes (three podiums) for the team last year. He will drive fulltime with Montecalvo this season and Heistand will join the pair at the endurance races.
This will be Montecalvo’s fourth fulltime season with Vasser Sullivan. Last year, he finished eighth in the championship driving the same No. 12 Lexus. He scored four top-five finishes with podiums at Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen.
Heistand brings worthy credentials in his return to the team for the endurance races. He co-drove to Vasser Sullivan’s first two wins back in 2019. Montecalvo, Telitz and Heistand are vying for their first Rolex 24 victory and welcome Bell back to the cockpit for the fourth consecutive Rolex 24 with the group. Bell won the GTD class at the Rolex 24 in 2014 and added the GTD season title the following year.
No. 16 Wright Motorsports
Porsche 911 GT3R
Ryan Hardwick/Zacharie Robichon/Jan Heylen/Richard Lietz
The reigning Michelin Endurance Cup GTD champion had to replace long-time Porsche driver Patrick Long for this season following his semi-retirement. Hardwick looks to run the complete schedule this year after injury and illness forced him to miss three 2021 races. Heylen, who won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship driving for Wright last year, expands his WeatherTech Championship role with the team from endurance race to full-season driver. Robichon, the 2021 GTD champion with Pfaff Motorsports, joins Wright for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
“I’m excited to be kicking off the year with one of my favorite races at Daytona,’’ Heylen said. “We have some unfinished business there with a few podiums but not yet the top step. I’m looking forward to going back and coming away with a good result.’’
No. 19 TR3 Racing
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Bill Sweedler/John Magrue/Giacomo Altoe/Jeff Segal
This will be TR3 Racing’s Rolex 24 debut as it fields cars in both GTD and GTD PRO. However, its GTD driver lineup is already highly decorated and the team is fielding the same Lamborghini that has won the Rolex 24 GTD class three of the last four years.
The combination of Sweedler – a former GT class champion, Sebring, Rolex 24 and Le Mans winner – along with Segal, also a past Rolex 24 and Sebring winner and two-time GT class champion, certainly brings high-wattage expectations.
Magrue is a former Ferrari Challenge North America championship contender, who finished runner-up in the GT World Challenge America ranks last year driving for TR3.
No. 21 AF Corse
Ferrari 488 GT3
Simon Mann/Luis Perez Companc/Nicklas Nielsen/Toni Vilander
This young lineup featuring Mann and Nielsen only has a handful of IMSA starts. Mann, 20, started 15th and finished eighth in the GTD ranks of the Rolex 24 last year. Danish driver Nielsen, 24, co-drove with Mann at Daytona and also earned a 26th-place class finish at Le Mans in 2021.
Companc is the veteran of the group, with a long career competing in the World Rally Championship. He has had some success in sports cars as well, earning a career-best ninth-place finish with AF Corse in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Vilander, 41, brings two Le Mans titles to the team (2012 and 2014 LMGTE Pro). He’s won in the FIA WEC ranks and has a pair of titles in the FIA GT Championship (GT2 class) as well. He is a long-time AF Corse Ferrari driver.
No. 27 Heart of Racing Team
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Roman De Angelis/Ian James/Darren Turner/Tom Gamble
This team is built upon the goal of raising money for the Seattle Children’s Hospital – generating more than $10 million to date. Racing hard and campaigning for a victory is the best way to get exposure for the cause and the driver lineup for the 2022 Rolex 24 certainly gives it a strong chance of success.
The 46-year-old James, the team principal, brings solid credentials with decades of sports car experience – 39 podiums and nine wins in his career including last year’s Motul Petit Le Mans alongside up-and-coming youngster De Angelis.
Turner has a good track record in the endurance races with a win at Sebring in 2012 and a runner-up effort there in 2020. He’s competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 18 times with a best showing of fifth place in 2007.
The 19-year-old Gamble made one WeatherTech Championship start in 2021, winning pole for the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class and finishing sixth.
No. 28 Alegra Motorsports
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Michael de Quesada/Linus Lundqvist/Maximilian Goetz
Ready for a second year fielding the Mercedes-AMG, Alegra is vying for the Micheline Endurance Cup championship where it won the Rolex 24 in 2017.
De Quesada was part of that winning effort at the age of 17. Last year, he helped the team to three top-five finishes in the switch to Mercedes. The 22-year-old Swede Lundqvist finished 18th in his only Rolex 24 start in 2019. This will be the German Goetz’s first Rolex 24 start. He has a podium finish in the 2019 Bathurst 12-hour race.
No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Mike Skeen/Guy Cosmo/Stevan McAleer/Scott Andrews
Skeen “rejoined” the team late in the 2021 season, co-driving with Cosmo at VIRginia International Raceway. Skeen is a former Petit Le Mans winner with the group when it competed in the LMP3 ranks.
The Australian Andrews certainly brings a bona fide resume as defending Rolex 24 LMP3 champion. He helped Riley Motorsports to wins in three of the four 2021 LMP3 endurance races.
McAleer is also coming off a strong 2021 effort running in three of the four endurance races – for three different teams – with a pole position at last year’s Rolex 24 and a 14th-place finish in his Gilbert Korthoff debut at Petit Le Mans.
No. 34 GMG Racing
Porsche 911 GT3R
Kyle Washington/James Sofronas/Jeroen Bleekemolen/Klaus Bachler
Washington made one start in 2021 – starting 17th and finishing 15th on the streets of Long Beach. Sofronas, 52, returned to IMSA competition for the first time since 2014 – co-driving with Washington at Long Beach. He last drove for GMG in 2014.
Bleekemolen has competed regularly in the IMSA ranks since 2006, earning 22 class wins. While he’s still looking for his first Rolex 24 victory, he is the 2017 GTD Sebring winner. He has eight Rolex 24 starts with a best showing of third in 2017.
The 30-year-old Austrian Bachler has six Rolex 24 at Daytona starts with a best showing of fourth place in 2020 and 2021.
No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Robert Megennis/Corey Lewis/Sandy Mitchell/Jeff Westphal
The team is fielding a Lamborghini this year and anticipates the manufacturer move will also mean a competitive fulltime run in 2022. Westphal and Magennis are slated to campaign the full season.
Westphal, 34, is the 2019 Michelin Pilot Challenge champion and ready to move fulltime into the GTD ranks this year after a solid season doing the sprint races last year – just missing the podium at the second Watkins Glen race (fourth place).
He’ll be joined fulltime by Megennis, 21, who ran endurance races last year with Vasser Sullivan – earning a podium finish at the season finale Petit Le Mans. He is a 2019 winner in the Indy Lights series.
Lewis, a four-time GTD race winner, won the Rolex 24 GTD class in 2020 with Paul Miller Racing. This will be the 21-year-old Mitchell’s Rolex 24 debut, though he brings great experience winning the GTD class in the 2020 British GT Championship.
No. 42 NTE Sport
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Don Yount/Benja Hites/Jaden Conwright/Markus Palttala
There is a lot of excitement as the Dallas-based embarks on its first fulltime GTD schedule – switching from Audi to Lamborghini power – and welcoming IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient Conwright to the team. He had top-10 finishes in his first two WeatherTech Championship starts last year with a best showing of fourth place at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
This may be Conwright’s first Rolex 24 but his teammates bring plenty of Daytona experience. Yount has a full resume of endurance starts, including six previous Rolex 24s with a third place in 2017 with BAR1 Motorsports.
No. 44 Magnus Racing
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
John Potter/Andy Lally/Spencer Pumpelly/Jonathan Adam
Magnus could be a race favorite again with its experienced team and winning drivers. Lally, 46, is one of the most versatile drivers in the sport – having won the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and three sports car titles. He has 34 career sports car victories, including five Rolex 24 class wins – the most of any driver in this year’s field.
Pumpelly is another winning driver with a pair of Rolex 24 class victories in 24 race starts. They will team with veterans Potter, who also has two Rolex 24 wins, and Adam, a four-time British GT champion making only his second WeatherTech Championship start. Adam is a WEC veteran and factory Aston Martin driver with a pair of class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2017 and 2020).
No. 47 Cetilar Racing
Ferrari 488 GT3
Roberto Lacorte/Alessio Rovera/Giorgio Sernagiotto/Antonio Fuoco
Set to contend for the Michelin Endurance Cup, the Italian-based team is a WEC veteran, winning in class at Portugal last year and earning pole position in Bahrain to close out the season. It finished 20th in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
This will be the team’s second Rolex 24 start. It finished sixth in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) in 2021 – leading laps but ultimately retiring early after experiencing gearbox problems.
“I’m very excited by the idea of participating in the four most important endurance races in the United States,’’ Fuoco said. “It’s an experience I wanted to do, and living it with Cetilar Racing, a team I have established a very special feeling with, is even sweeter.
“My first race with Cetilar Racing was the 24 Hours of Daytona last January and given how it ended, we want to make up for it with interest.’’
No. 57 Winward Racing
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Russell Ward/Philip Ellis/Mikael Grenier/Lucas Auer
The defending Rolex 24 winning team earned a hard-fought title. Ward and Ellis were on the 2021 trophy team to give Mercedes a 1-2 sweep in the GTD class. It was the first Daytona win for all four Winward Racing drivers last year.
Grenier was part of the Sun Energy 1 Mercedes team that finished second in last year’s Rolex 24. Auer is making his series debut.
No. 59 Crucial Motorsports
McLaren 720S GT3
Lance Bergstein/Jon Miller/Patrick Gallagher/Paul Holton
This Florida-based team will be making its Rolex 24 debut with plans to run the full Michelin Endurance Cup schedule. Gallagher competed in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and won the 2017 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires championship.
This will be Bergstein’s WeatherTech Championship debut. Miller’s only previous IMSA start came in the 2012 Rolex 24.
No. 64 Team TGM
Porsche 911 GT3 R
Ted Giovanis/Hugh Plumb/Matt Plumb/Owen Trinkler
This team is back for its second Rolex 24 start and highly motivated, participating in both the Michelin Pilot Challenge race and Rolex 24 on the same weekend, in what the team considers the “true test of endurance.” The four-driver lineup also makes up TGM’s two-car Michelin Pilot Challenge attack. Last year, the No. 64 retired from the Rolex 24 at the 18th hour with a drivetrain problem.
Team owner Giovanis is eager to be back on track.
“We put so much time and preparation into the double-duty event last January and we felt like we were cheated out of the finish,’’ Giovannis said. “We gave it a great deal of thought, as it is a huge investment of both time and money, but Team TGM is ready to tackle the Rolex 24 again this year.’’
No. 66 Gradient Racing
Acura NSX GT3
Till Bechtolsheimer/Marc Miller/Mario Farnbacher/Kyffin Simpson
The team will contest the Michelin Endurance Cup and is optimistic with the addition of young Honda Performance Development standout Simpson. He joins the veteran Farnbacher, an eight-time race winner and two-time GTD champion who has a pair of Twelve Hours of Sebring victories but is still racing for his first Rolex 24 winner’s watch.
Bechtolsheimer has made 17 WeatherTech Championship starts but this will be his first at the Rolex 24. Miller, the 2016 Motul Petit Le Mans winner, is back for his third season with Gradient and first Rolex 24 start since 2016.
No. 70 inception racing
McLaren 720S GT3
Brendan Iribe/Frederik Schandorff/Ollie Milroy/Jordan Pepper
This is another World Endurance Championship team making its first Rolex 24 start with plans to contest the entire WeatherTech Championship GTD season. The team made its IMSA debut in last year’s season-ending Petit Le Mans, finishing 12th after being collected in an accident.
Iribe and Milroy are the full-season drivers, with help at Daytona from Schandorff and Pepper. All four drivers are Rolex 24 rookies.
No. 71 T3 Motorsport North America
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo
Franck Perera/Mateo Llarena/Maximilian Paul
The German-based team will be making its Rolex 24 debut after success racing in the DTM touring car series in Europe. It has a strong anchor driver in Perera, who was a Rolex 24 GTD winner in his race debut in 2018 – riding in a Lamborghini.
Llarena, the 17-year-old Guatemalan, impressed last year with a pole position earned in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) at Watkins Glen. He’ll be making his second Rolex 24 start but first in a GT car.
Paul has driven for T3 since 2019 in DTM and ADAC GT Masters and will make his Rolex 24 debut.
No. 75 Sun Energy 1
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Kenny Habul/Luca Stolz/Raffaele Marciello/Fabian Schiller
Three of the team’s four drivers from last year’s Rolex 24 GTD runner-up return: Habul, Stolz and Marciello.
The 48-year-old Australian Habul is the team leader. Now living in North Carolina, he is the CEO of Sun Energy 1 and a versatile driver – even competing for NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series teams. He has three sportscar podiums including that runner-up showing in last year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Stolz, a European GT driver, has finished on podium in two of his seven WeatherTech Championship starts – at Sebring in 2018 and Daytona last year. Schiller, who earned a Rolex 24 podium last year with DragonSpeed in LMP2, is the newcomer to the team.
No. 96 Turner Motorsport
BMW M4 GT3
Robby Foley/Bill Auberlen/Jens Klingmann
Led by Auberlen, IMSA’s all-time leading race winner, the team is sporting a new BMW M4 GT3 this year after running the BMW M6 for six years. Among Auberlen’s 64 career wins have been two in the Rolex 24.
Foley has been a great teammate with six GTD wins already in his young career, including two last year. This will mark Klingmann’s U.S. debut.
No 98 Northwest AMR
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Paul Dalla Lana/David Pittard/Charlie Eastwood/Nicki Thiim
Dalla Lana returns to Rolex 24 competition for the first time in three years. The seven-time race winner won the GTD pole position at both Daytona and Sebring in 2018 but is still looking for his first Rolex win.
The team is enthused to have Thiim on board. The Danish driver won in the GTE Am class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans and at Nurburgring. Eastwood will be making his second IMSA start, following a seventh-place finish in the Rolex 24 last year. This will be Pittard’s Rolex debut.
No. 99 Hardpoint
Porsche 911 GT3 R
Rob Ferriol/Katherine Legge/Stefan Wilson/Nick Boulle
Legge and Ferriol are paired again this season after finishing ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 2021 GTD standings. A four-time WeatherTech Championship race winner, Legge is still looking for her first Rolex 24 victory.
This will mark Ferriol’s third fulltime season in the GTD ranks. His career best finish is fifth (Sebring in 2020).
This will be Wilson’s second WeatherTech Championship start. He finished runner-up in the Prototype Challenge class at Circuit of The Americas in 2017. This year’s race marks the 10th anniversary of his late brother Justin’s overall Rolex 24 win.
This will be Boulle’s sixth Rolex 24. He holds the distinction of being the first Rolex watch retailer to win the race – taking LMPC class honors in 2017.